Fires Continue To Ravage Western Oklahoma

As The High Plains Journal reports, nearly 325,000 Acres had burned and were still burning as of Wednesday afternoon. This includes 68,000 acres in Woodward County and nearly a quarter of a million acres in Dewey County.

Numerous areas were evacuated. Wildfire dangers continue throughout the week, with red flag warnings remaining in effect until April 18.

According to a report by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry services, the danger area stretches from Alfalfa County to Tillman County. The weather in Western Oklahoma is making things difficult on firefighters, with very low relative humidity and winds gusting up to 30 miles per hour.

At least one of this week's wildfires was started because of citizens ignoring the burn ban.

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Wildfires ravaged much of Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle this weekend.

As KFOR reports, fire crews from neighboring states like Louisiana and Arkansas—and as far away as Florida—sped toward the Sooner State and the Lone Star State to try to quell the blazes. Hundreds of thousands of acres burned, including 7,000 acres in Wheeler County, and at least one life was lost in the Oklahoma fires.

One of the staples of elementary school library shelves across Texas is Hank the Cowdog – the dog who fancies himself the “head of ranch security” at the M-Cross Ranch in the Panhandle. Since 1983, Hank has solved mysteries, fended off coyotes, and pined for the affection of the ranch’s collie, Beulah.

Several fires burned throughout the Texas Panhandle this weekend, on a Sunday that was windy even by West Texas standards. One fire near the northwest loop of Amarillo ultimately burned 400 acres of grassland before being conquered by firefighters from Potter County Fire, the Texas A&M Forest Service, and the Amarillo Street Department.

State officials said yesterday that the recent rain helped emergency responders across Kansas put out the latest wave of wildfires. Sixty-two wildland fires burned more than 17,000 acres between March 14th and 18th. The wildfires initially broke out in Rice county but were followed by fires in eight other counties -- including Barber and Reno, which were affected by fires earlier in March as well.

According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the County Line fire that started in Hartley County on Thursday and spread into Oldham and Moore counties burned 15,682 acres. It is now 100 percent contained.

The second largest fire, the Old Muddy Road fire, began in Potter County Sunday and burned 4,480 acres as of Monday morning, at which time it was 65 percent contained.